Huntinn Time: Artetris Huntress Wizard
by tolliver-j-mortaelwyver
Summary: Artetris, the Huntress Wizard, must face her past in order to embrace her uncertain future.
1. Artetris, the Huntress Wizard

I.

The hyleoroi wizard treaded the forest path in silence. A few rabbits and beavers crossed her path in joyful bliss as she went, but she ignored them. Up high, the tree songs recounted "the Watcher's" return, but she ignored them and burned with frustration.

Artetris had been starring out her old, half-refurbished, Wizard City apartment's busted window when it happened, when the human woman, Betty, first appeared through its hole and requested magical instruction. She remembered how Betty swooped right in on a flying rug, much to Artetris' astonishment and displeasure at the sudden intrusion, and though she had yelled and screamed at Betty to leave or suffer the wrath of her mystic arrows and bow, the woman did not budge. Unperturbed and unwilling to just quit the hunt of whatever it was she pursued, the human woman stayed and faced her. Betty, in response to her arrows, merely threw her hands up in surrender and submission while asking to be heard, and out of respect for the woman's nerves, Artetris had listened. That was how her return adventure to the forest and her duties as its Watcher first started.

"Hey, hey," the woman said to her at arrow point with her hands raised high in surrender, her pretty red hair fluttering behind her. "I'm not here for any trouble. Huntress Wizard, right? I'm Betty, Betty Groff. I just came to ask for your help in learning things about magic I don't get. I heard that you were a master of natural, earthy magics. I…really would like to learn more."

 _Huntress Wizard_ Artetris recalled thinking. That was the title and name that the Land of Ooo had bequeathed her, for she was a Huntress and a Wizard both professionally and by blood. She was Artetris Huntress Wizard, daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a forest home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility…

The title, thus, always filled her heart and mind with a heavy mixture of sadness and pride no one but herself could know. How could they? How could anyone know _Huntress Wizard_ when she went so far out her way to protect the soft things residing deep within her spirit? She had to be certain that those emotions did not bring her end after all. She had to be certain…

Artetris recalled scrutinizing Betty closely. She had found her familiar…eerily familiar almost as if her spirit sensed some deep-rooted omen about Betty that she should not ignore. It quickly hit Artetris why upon recalling the Anti-Magi Bella Noche's attack upon their magic city. This woman, Betty, had ridden in with an old and human Ice King, who had practically been knocking at Death's door; she was the one who had gone in and delivered the blow needed to knock the anti-mage out—though not before she, Artetris Huntress Wizard, had felt her forest wilds' call and her nymph spirit answering.

While the city had long since recovered from that battle just fine, she did not, not after that instance of losing her father's wizard heritage and feeling the woods' call. After that, the forest wilds' call became a persistent illness in her that not even wizardry's mad and sad tolls could numb or cure as they once had before. In many ways she held no actual desires for an herb that could do the job, for secretly she missed running outside the city and amongst the trees of the woods. That was why Betty's arrival both intrigued and frightened her deeply. It felt…right to her despite the caution and fear within her.

If she went back without caution after all, her dreams for herself and the woods were forfeit. She would lose the freedom she had worked so hard to claim from her cursed past. At least, at the time she had told herself that to remain in some control against the madness flowing within her to just leave the city and return home to her family's tree. She had to act carefully…

But in that city, was she truly free?

Artetris remembered returning her arrow to her quiver and standing upright to face her intruder with folded arms. Why had this woman, of all beings, come to her? And why now on the cusp of her will's breakdown? Had the forest sent this woman's spirit to her? If so, why?

"Alright," Artetris told the woman. "What is it you wish to acquire in knowledge from me? To cast spells is not for the brilliant or the wise. Only cursed souls pursue it, for they lose nothing they have not lost already. Concerning forest spells, they are more…heritage based than the typical hub drub tricks of the city. I cast magic from the head and the blood. It's not something non-forest wizards can just do."

"I'm…not looking to cast actually," the woman, Betty, had said, dropping her arms and stepping down from the carpet into the apartment. She marched forward with her hand outstretched for a shake. Artetris reluctantly shook it back before refolding her arms in discomfort. "My name is Betty, as I said, and I'm a human brought here through space and time. I'm trying to understand more about magic so that I can help cure someone I have lost completely to the influences of a magical item. I am looking for guys and gals willing to let me observe their magic up close to just kind of get a sense and feel for how it works from person to person. Could I…simply get you to hang out with me in the forest and show me how your Huntress magic works?"

Artetris had huffed at the request and turned away to think on it. For how long would this human be observing her? Where? And how? And for who was it that she fought? Ice King? Surely not. Though…he had been a human once, hadn't he?

"It would just be for a day," the woman…Betty… spoke up as if in anticipation of such apprehension. Artetris shot her a stern look with a hum but otherwise remained silent. "We'll go out into the woods and, you know, do whatever's normal for you. I'm here to learn!"

Artetris pondered what the woman really hoped to do. Mana was not something ordinary beings could handle. Those who were turned by it often went mad with no chance at recovery, and yet this woman sought its "secrets" just the same. If one truly understood magic; however, he or she would know that there were no secrets to it, just pain and a great desire to change that chaos to peace. Magic was a slight of the hand, an illusion. The real power behind it was emotion, imagination, and understanding how the multiverse worked both physically and non-physically—traits most wizards in the city truly lacked as they favored the mysticism side of magic more than its practical uses, a practice she deplored greatly.

How many truly knew where their powers hailed from? How beings like globs and sleepers like Artemis and Darren factored into the things they could do? And for those that did know, how many had not succumbed to the madness that came from such an understanding?

But then, did Betty not already possess the first thread that would lead her down magic's dark path one way or another? Did she, the Huntress Wizard, really have the right to stop her?

Betty's resolve to move towards madness caused even her, the battle-hardened Huntress Wizard, to feel for the woman's plight—or had that just the forest in her calling?

In response to her visitor's persistence, Artetris finally relented with a sigh and gave in to her latent desires. Killing the woman would gain her nothing but more trouble. Plus, as a huntress, she could not ignore Betty's conviction. No amount of argument or rebuttal would move her from the path she had chosen. At the very least, she could protect her as best she could, by teaching her how to fight back the urges. What Betty did from there was on her.

More than any of that, however, Artetris had finally decided that running from her past no longer suited her style. Just as the woman, Betty, faced the darkness ahead, so, too, must she. Her time to face the forest and its trees had come.

"I will help you learn the skills you shall need on your endeavor," she finally told her. "After that, you shall be on your own. Just know that you tread a dark path rife with challenge and pain. You're lucky. I've been wanting to get out of the city for a while no to revisit the old roost. This presents me the perfect excuse to go for it. I'll meet you outside the city tomorrow at dawn. Don't dawdle, or I'll leave and go my way alone."

"Right!" the woman proclaimed in an almost mad excitement. Artetris remembered leering at her with concern. Betty, in response, only hushed and backed away from her and climbing back onto her carpet to leave.

Before going, she had repeated to herself coolly, "At dawn…"

After that, she waved and flew off for the town. "I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!"

Without so much as a "thanks" or a look back, the woman, Betty, left and met her at dawn the next day as planned. Their excursion came and went, and the woman vanished from her world as mysteriously as she had entered it. Even so, Betty's mark upon her remained, for that was how her inevitable return home had started. At the time, it had been a simple mission, a simple hunt; but looking back on it all—for once in her straightforward life—the forest had actually awakened something in her that she just could not escape.

A hunger… A madness… A desire…

A…thirst to hunt down Huntress Wizard and to know who she was now, to know how her elder-self compared to the child-self she had left behind those three long years before. That was what she felt inside and that she had to answer, least she ultimately suffer the very fruitless fate she truly feared. But the return had not gone as planned, not hardly. The trees had trapped her there, and she could not escape. How could she leave when she was their only salvation?


	2. The Hunt Within

II.

Artetris continued wandering the forest path silence. Normally, she'd hunt the rabbits for kicks and play. Or she'd put the stray beaver out of its misery and then, after harvesting the meat and the fur, bury the bones to pay homage to their lives helping her to sustain her own. One was all, and all was one, after all. However, for once the urge to hunt eluded her completely, for her mind and thought processes were overwhelmed with questions and frustrations. A darkness threatened her forest home, a darkness she could have prevented had she been there, had she known.

The tree nymphs around her all grew mournfully silent at her lack of reply to their celebration and praise. She searched for their hidden foes but not because she enjoyed it. She simply had to now that she was there.

Several days had passed since the excursion with Betty, since the conversation with the forest nymphs that had followed and kept her behind. After meeting Betty at dawn, as agreed, they had ventured out there to her old neck of the woods and her old tree friends for their lesson. In that time, she taught Betty of the power of magic found within nature and the lands while explaining to her why they were so strong and dangerous. Whether Betty had listened much, she truly did not know, for the woman's mind seemed focused, madly focused, on some unspoken and specific answer.

As part of the magical demonstration, Artetris had found and merged with an old tree to illustrate transformation magic as well as its dangers and how one could overcome the urge to be as that which one transformed into. In addition, Artetris also spoke to the tree nymphs inside and the twigs, all of which she relayed to the researcher in an effort to raise her awareness of the forest's true life and a need to respect it. Though whether Betty retained such lessons, she could not be sure and, honestly, doubted.

However, Artetris had not told Betty all in their time together. She did not tell Betty of her own personal addressment from tree nymphs to her beyond Huntress Wizard. She did not tell how the nymphs called her "Hyleo" or "Watcher of the Woods and Trees" and pled for her return, mostly because explaining it would have been a pain but also because such address to her meant one thing—the reality and answer to her wonderings she dreaded most and feared.

No one in their cursed nymph world had appeared to replace her.

"You left us…Watcher…" the tree nymphs had told her, much to her pain. "You left us behind, and we've cried for you. Did you not hear us until now? Why? Why?"

Why? Why had no one replaced her as Watcher? Why? She only left them to have that deepest desire granted—to be severed from the Watcher's role and granted her freedom. But her wish had not come to pass. Had she been the openly despondent type, Betty might have quizzed her on what she felt in their time together, but, of course, Artetris had naturally hidden such things from Betty during the endeavor. Only once alone did Artetris express pain and derision at the circumstances that befell her.

"The forest needs you to kill the Arba yaga and her cursed fiends," several tree nymphs had told her over the past few days in her wandering. "Kill the wood witches and drive them from our homes… Please Watcher! Oh please…"

Artetris hated their whining, but she could not ignore the calls of those with no other ears to listen.

"Where might I find her and her kin?" Artetris had asked, but no one had answered. "Well?"

They, then, eventually said to her in return, "They shall simply find you…"

They shall simply find you… Since then, the whole time she hunted she heard those cursed words echo inside her so fiercely that she burned with frustration like fire, so much so that burns would sometimes appear from her thoughts alone. For days, she had been on the hunt for that witch but with no traces and no word from the tree nymphs of how she might find her. A darkness seemed to cloud their thoughts, an evil that wished not to be found.

Artetris looked up to the tree tops as she walked, pondering her next steps, her next moves.

"I should find King," she said aloud to the trees above. They listened. She could feel them freely now, having treaded amongst them in their homes once more, but none dared answer. Their silence bothered her. Was she just talking to herself? "He would know where the Forest Spirit may be found so that I may cons—…"

The tree nymphs finally broke their solemn silence and spoke to her.

"The fowl fey, King, is gone…" the trees whispered to her. "Gone… Gone…"

"Gone?" Artetris responded, stopping.

The word echoed from her lips in shock and disbelief. How was King gone? That antler-horned, feathered beast had lived through wars and more, long before her—or so she had heard from her dad. Her mother had even ridden him to battle on her last hunt to face the cursed white elk, Acteon. So how in the glob's name was King just…gone?

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" she asked them. "Has he died? How…?"

"Murdered!" the trees exclaimed, all crying in grief. "Killed! He was slaughtered, slaughtered in cold blood!"

Artetris' eyes widened in pain.

"You were gone!" another tree cried, and Artetris felt the guilt grow in her. Silence followed, and she narrowed her eyes in frustration at the statement and the sensation that came with it. Why had no one bothered to replace her when she left? Why? "You were gone and he came. The white beast."

White beast?

"Do you mean Acteon?" she asked, thinking of the monstrous white elk that had once haunted the forests until her mother had driven him off. "My mother slayed him with Diana's Judgment before dying. He couldn't be—"

"No," the trees abruptly said in reply. "A bear, a white bear who hunts, murderously hunts. He has slaughtered his own and more. No one…can stand against him. A monstrous animal! The reborn white beast!"

"Such is all we know," others said. "Darkness clouds the forest, young Huntress Wizard, Watcher of the Forest… We know not what they desire us to forget most in their songs…"

"No…" Artetris said, holding her head in anguish and rage. "Why? Why did no one replace me? What happened?"

"No one could," the tree nymphs whispered to her bluntly. "Who could hope to replace the Eve? Watchers are carefully chosen and sent here…but none could come so long as you are the One, the strongest one running. None could come…"

"I see…" Artetris repeated, the sadness welling up within her. "Glob it all…"

Artetris stopped her cries by covering her face and eyes and muffling her chokes. Nothing had changed for her. Her status as the one and only Watcher remained. Though she held back her tears, her breaths sobbed gently while she struggled to recompose herself. What had been the point of leaving and staying in the city if nothing had come of it?

Why did she still have to choose between them—between living forever for the forest or dying for companionship and love? As a Watcher, why could she not have both a bond for the forest and a bond for a love like that between her parents?

To be a Watcher, she knew, meant devoting oneself to Artemis and the forest for the sake of its protection. To be the Watcher meant choosing to abandon love's path in favor of the eternal hunt so that one could serve Artemis for as long as one's strength lasted, a road that could wind forever if one chose to hunt for her and only her in that eternity. As part of that, however, she could never fall in love or marry, especially not with a man, least she become cursed and bound to his mortality. Even if he lived to his eldest days her lifespan would still be considerably shortened, and there would be no turning back from it.

The forest remained silent as Artetris' pain reached them.

"Can I not have that one desire?" she uttered aloud at last. "To love and know a bond like theirs for myself? Why must I choose between forest and mate? Why can't I have him and the forest too?"

"Greedy…" the three nymphs answered. "Greedy child!"

Artetris snorted at them in contempt and sobbed.

Being the Watcher had been the poison that killed her mom. Its curse had condemned her to die quite young. For when her father passed, her mother followed shortly two years thereafter. Remembering pained Artetris deeply.

"Mom…" she muttered, her head hanging in sadness. "I can't… I can't do this… Not like this… I can't stay torn between both wants… Will no one…help me?"

The forest did not answer. Artetris sighed and took deep breaths. She weighed the dilemma against her heart and its flutters and cringes within her chest.

On the one hand, she desired the freedom to love and to find one like her parents' bond more than any treasure or hunt the world could offer.

However…

On the other hand…she also desired to protect the forest as she was meant to, and she could, undeniably, not have both.

Artetris moaned and glared at the dirt in frustration. No one had ever told her of the dangers of wanting and having both…not until finding out the cold, horrible truth from her mother's passing. After her mom died for choosing the path of romance, family, and love against Artemis' will; she, Artetris Huntress Wizard, had chosen to abandon the path of the Watcher completely and the trees she was meant to protect. In hopes that someone would come to replace her and set her free, Artetris had left the forest behind for the city. Only when she could have hopes fulfilled could she pursue the affections of another she craved…

But no one had come to replace her. Nothing had happened. Nothing had changed.

Artetris balled her fists in frustration and anger. Why? Why? Why had no one come? And why had no one told her about the forest's plight sooner? Why had no one fetched her aid when they were in need? The forest needed a Watcher, after all what with witches and reckless magic users running amok. She was its Huntress. At the very least, she should have been told.

Or…perhaps she just had not wanted to hear it.

Artetris inhaled deeply and thought deeply.

What did she truly wish to do?

Return to the city and leave everything behind for good?

No.

She could not return to the city, not now.

The forest needed its Watcher, and she was, sadly, the only one it wanted, the only one Artemis' will, itself, desired. Thus, the forest needed its Huntress Wizard to look after it. It needed her, Artetris Huntress Wizard, daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard and mistress of forest magics and trees. Artetris rose up tall and looked straight ahead towards the other trees in the distance. Was that what she needed too?

She could not yet be certain of what it was she wished. Even so, one thing was certain.

She definitely needed to fix what she had broken by her leaving.

The fowl fey King was gone. A white bear had killed him and more, slaughtered him in cold blood as the trees had said, and that could not go unpunished. Without someone else who could hunt him, she had a duty to pursue the bear and purify his wicked spirit by ending him with her javelins and arrows. She had a duty to run the wood witches from their stolen homes by finding and slaying the tree witch that commanded them.

She would find the bear and kill him. She would strike him down and free the forest of his burden. As a Huntress, with or without Artemis' burden, she needed to do that much for them and for herself.

Her hunt for Huntress Wizard had ended. For now.

She would find them! She would find that witch and that bear, and she would make their spirits fear the name that was Huntress Wizard. She would cleanse the forest of their ilk. Only then could she know for certain the path she desired.

Only then could her path be chosen.

With her mind made up, she hurried off for King's part of the forest for clues.


	3. The White Beast

III.

The green, wood nymph wizard soared over the canopy in pursuit of her lumbering prey. It had taken days, but she had found him. She had found the bear, and his pelt would be hers…just as soon as she caught up to and killed him. The beasts of the tree tops knew to stay well beyond her reach and out of her path as she leapt past them in fury. Their scattering pleased her, but the bear's apparent apathy and mild annoyance with her presence filled her with anger and madness. He would soon learn, she told herself as she continued to chase him down.

He would soon know the name that was Artetris, the Huntress Wizard, and his soul would fear it for all its dead days.

The vile fiend snarled at her pursuit as she dropped from above and onto the branch of the tree in his path. With her eyes focused and narrowed, she aimed for him with her arrow and mystic bow on target. The bow's magic would kill him instantly. However, he stood, and his roar shook the branch she stood on, and several others, just long enough for her to fight for her balance and just long enough for him to flee and get away.

Artetris steadied herself and hummed in frustration. As the nymphs of the trees had warned, his power far exceeded that of a normal bear's. Never had one run so swiftly and elusively. Never had a bear blown her back with his snarl and lived to tell the tale. But every time she failed to catch him, it worked her into a hungering frenzy that made her just want to hunt him more.

The white beast reborn… Indeed, he had been reborn somehow as a white bear, but was he really Acteon? Or something else entirely?

The sounds of the hunt thrilled Artetris as she leapt after him, again in pursuit. The wind rushing through her green, leafy hair and under her long, navy blue cape and brown hood; the arrows in her quiver clapping, ready to be levitated from their pack and launched at whoever she deemed their target; her heart beating in her chest like a drum sounding for war, for such a battle had been declared by the unwitting actions of her opponent; and the chanting of her breath and the branches as she zeroed in on her quarry—all of it lulled her towards madness and glee.

She'd chase him down until he was hers…

She'd skin his hide until it had paid for his crimes in blood…

Her green, cat-like eyes followed every motion and whim of the prey ahead. The Huntress scoffed at his footsteps pounding the forest path in frustrated clumsiness. Her mint green body tingled with mana as she closed in on her target. Her hands reached back and drew three arrows forth with only her telekinetic will. The bow would be more precise, she thought, and powerful, but the prey was too fast. Slow him down first and then aim for his heart or his big head…

Aim for his big head…

The green arrows flew with a "woosh" towards her opponent's head! The beast, however, tumbled over a root and rolled out of danger, causing Artetris to miss her mark completely. Instead, her arrows struck the tree behind him, causing the wood nymph attached to it to cry out in alarm. She spat and cursed, dismissing the arrows from her friend and making sure to leave no blemish behind before refocusing on the foe before.

Begrudgingly, she felt the tree nymph inside forgive her, and her anger grew fiercer.

Now the bear had truly done it.

The bear-dude recovered and roared as she landed upon the ground before him. Artetris stood from her crouched, Huntress position to face him head on with a glare. Her mana coursed throughout her with rage. She eyed him with challenge and contempt, unafraid of his mad and arrogant stare. Agitated, he snorted and snarled at her in return.

Standing up on his hind legs, he threw his head back so that his thunderous voice bellowed through the trees before he slammed to all fours and stomped towards her. She spat at him and hissed while meeting his steps. Slowly, they began to circle one another in predatory caution. She'd kill him… She'd kill him…

"You're a menace to these woods, Beast!" she spat at him. "You're a menace, and I hunt down monsters like you to their graves!"

He snorted at her in contempt and smirked almost as they two continued to circle one another slowly. From where had he hailed such arrogance? In return, she huffed back, her sharper teeth flaring.

"You destroyed someone this forest held as sacred!" she hissed. "Someone a friend of mine held dear, and I'll kill you for crossing that line!"

She readied her arrows, and the bear snorted, looking dazed and dumb as he looked around.

A voice suddenly spoke from him telepathically.

"You…shall not beat this beast with those, magic nymph," it stated haughtily. "Not even Diana will fail me once my plans are complete!"

Artetris' eyebrow raised in confusion at the words coming from the bear's head; his mouth didn't move at all. Who was that? And how did it know of Artemis' spear, Diana?

"Who are…" she started to ask.

"Your interest in killing this animal is more out of guilt and pride, little nymph," the voice interrupted while the bear seemed to moan a bearish in pain. "Versus some self-righteous dedication to this forest, you should admit how poorly you hold it in regard to your own feelings. You'd feel better. You left it all behind after all! Hahaha!"

Artetris' eye twitched at his last comment, and she summoned a javelin as the bear roared in anger. It did not matter now who he was. He would die along with his bear.

The bear suddenly lunged at her as if freed from a cage, and he came like a beast on fire. Artetris gritted her teeth at the realization of danger and leapt aside. Her heart pounded while she held the spear towards the animal, refocusing on the task at hand—killing him. The bear, however, suddenly growled and thrashed at nothing. As if somewhat confused by all that was transpiring, he shook his head almost as if he was trying to regain some composure. What little composure a dumb bear could have.

Artetris saw her chance to take him. She had him there, right where she wanted him… And she'd kill him. She grinded her teeth together in madness and lunged.

"HEY! WHOA!" the bear suddenly cried out in alarm as he dodged and fell over.

Artetris stopped, somewhat surprised by his actions but mostly annoyed. What was going on? She pointed her javelin towards the bear and stalked towards him with caution. Who had he become now? The bear stood back up on all fours and faced her.

"Watch it lady," he growled. "What the bliz is wrong with you? Don't you know you could kill someone with that?"

"Uh…that's the point, my javelin's point!" Artetris remarked before kicking the bear in the chin and knocking him over. She stood on him and pointed the javelin at his face, and he looked at it in terror. "You're the one who murdered the fowl fey, King. It's one thing if you had eaten him and buried the bones like you are supposed to, but that's not what happened! You killed my friend in cold blood and left his remains scattered across the forest floor. You massacred him! I'll skewer you in return!"

The bear's eyes widened in terror before narrowing in confusion and holding his head.

"Oh no, no…no…" he remarked. "Not again…"

The bear groaned a bearish moan and whimpered as she raised the javelin.

"Look, okay, I am sorry!" he said, admitting his crime in panic. "Whatever I did I didn't mean to—"

Artetris suddenly jammed the javelin into his neck before he could finish, and he gagged.

"He's not the only one you 'didn't mean' to kill for no other point than killing," she said coldly. The bear choked and clawed at her javelin; his neck and fur were both thicker than anticipated. "Hey-whoa!"

Artetris quickly went flying back as the young bear's instincts and will to live kicked it. He cried out in both terror and anger, and a powerful force blew her back and into a nearby tree. She groggily stood and glared towards him. He stared at her in shock at what he had done and shook his head, as if unbelieving that it had happened. Clumsily, he scrambled away, and Artetris growled in vexation at her own vengeful behavior. Next time, she'd just stab him through the eye. Suffering her enemy was wrong.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" he cried as he ran. Artetris listened to his pleading and pursued him. "I…just wanted to be strong so that I could be tough and face the guy sugaring up to my girl! I never wanted this curse!"

Curse? What curse? The information sent memories of the voice back to her, the voice that had had the nerve to condescend and question her intentions. Artetris narrowed her eyes. She'd definitely kill him…whoever he was. Clearly, he was not the bear.

But if not him, then who had the spiritual voice belonged to? Acteon…?

No. Her mother's dying act and declaration had been that she had killed him, that Diana had slayed Acteon for good. So…who else could the spirit have been?

"What are you on about, Bear?" Artetris hollered after him in contempt. "Blaming others for your crimes is immature!"

"I heard a voice!" he cried as her arrows flew after him. Her eyebrow raised with interest. "And then I went to a witch…. I'm sorry! I don't know what she did or what happened! All I know is they're dead! Everyone's gone!"

"So you tampered with magic!" Artetris screamed behind him as she narrowed the gap. The bear only cried in terror in response. A twinge of conflict rose within her. Magic… She knew it's trade-off's well. Had she not been trying to warn Betty those few days before? If only someone had warned the bear…"Stupid bear! You can't handle the madness that comes from the type of magic you sought after. It's no wonder you went crazy! Where did you get the knowledge? Tell me!"

Artetris threw the javelin at his feet, and he panicked and tumbled as it snapped beneath him. She landed upon his back and grasped his fur. She then levitated an arrow near his nose, and he shuddered. Artetris narrowed her eyes at him to let him know who was the boss, and he gulped.

"Tell me who made you strong, Bear," she growled. "What evil dares to lurk in this forest and twists its beings?"

"I'm not sure," the bear said. "I was wandering…and sad because my girl had dumped me for this other bear…and I just wanted to get stronger…"

Artetris rolled her eyes. Kids…and romance. The love between beasts never ceased to amuse her, for so often, it mimicked the same dramas as other beings. Her parents came to mind…

Angrily, she twisted his fat and fur and threw him to the ground, not wanting to hear of his dramas or think about how they reminded her of her own. The bear shuddered at her strength and quickly got the point.

"Ahh! There was a voice!" the bear cried in terror. "It came to me after a bad hunt! It said to find the path to the Arba yaga's home…"

Artetris listened with intense interest. Arba yaga were notoriously evil, hiding out in their hovels surrounded by wood witch trees and misguiding travelers to eat them and suck the essence of their souls. The forest had warned her of the darkness clouding its mind. Was this bear the key to finding them? And would ending her and the wood witches fix all the problems they faced? Including this dumb bear? Perhaps.

The bear stared at her sheepishly, and she glared.

"Tell me more," Artetris demanded.

"It told me, that Arbottoma would help me…" the bear spoke on. "So I…went to the Wood Witch Grove to see her."

Artetris' eyes narrowed in aggravation, and she heaved a sigh before groaning. That stupid butt witch…and her bottomless bum. How had SHE grown into such a troublesome opponent?

"I…I don't know why I listened," the bear stammered, growing more deranged. Artetris watched him closely. "That witch was nuts! She kept talking of something…an Art-something ring…or whatever…and how my nose could find it… Everything happened so fast… It's all a blur. I…I can't tell you more than that. Her hair was pretty. That's all I remember. After that…I…. I…."

Artetris groaned and sighed before walking away.

"Not interested," she coldly replied. "I have heard what I needed. Come on. We're going to find her…that bottomless butt witch. I'm going to teach her about trespassing in my forest, and you're going to help, Bear. Depending on how you perform with me, I might spare your miserable existence."

She stopped and faced him with a levitating arrow.

"…or I could end that miserable existence now," she remarked. He whimpered. "What's it going to be?"

"I'm… I…" he stammered, and Artetris glared. The bear heaved a sigh and seemed to draw some conviction in his breath as he spoke his decision. "I'll go with you. That witch owes me answers. None of this is…what I asked for. At the very least, I'd rather not die knowing a cursed power flows through my body. Count me in."

Artetris huffed, impressed with the bear's response. She put the arrow she had away and mounted the bear in a standing position. As they both just stood there, the bear whimpered and shot her an uneasy look. Artetris blankly stared back at him before folding her arms and tapping her foot. In return, the bear shifted uneasily beneath her and she uttered a sigh of disbelief.

"Take me to the witch," she finally commanded.

"Oh," the bear said, calming down a bit and almost laughing. "Right."

With that command, the bear turned them into the direction of one of the forest's most sacred spots. Artetris' eyes widened in disbelief as they trotted off in silence, and she almost stumbled and fell from the bear's back in response to the answer of where the witch and her minions were hiding.

Home. They were headed for her family's home…


	4. Watcher

IV.

Dusk had fallen. As Artetris and the bear slowly trudged for her hijacked home, she felt the chill in the air deepen. The wood witches surrounding them began to stir from their slumber. Before long, the evil nymphs took note of her and began to jeer and taunt her, much to her aggravation. Artetris stood upon the bear's back in silence as she listened to them with her arms stirring.

"You left…" Artetris heard the taunting wood witches cry, as she and the bear travelled through what the forest now called the Wood Witch Grove.

She tried to ignore them as they went; wood witches were such despicable nymphs for whom she held little to no respect. She yawned from the top of the bear's back where she stood with her arms folded. She hoped they would take a hint and leave her be, for she had no interest in quarreling with them. However, they only laughed at her and taunted on. She glared.

"You left, you left!" they aggravatingly chanted. "First dad, then mom, then you. Wee!

"You left, and we grew in number, strength, and glee!"

Artetris growled in frustration at their jingled words. How dare they speak of her parents' fates in such a manner! She shot several dirty looks around them as the wood witch trees seemed to lean in. The bear travelled slowly, feeling at ill ease, and he whimpered.

Artetris ignored him as she cried towards the trees above, waving her fists, "Shut your trunks you fruitless jerks! I will burn you! Do you hear me?!"

The wood witches cackled, having received the reaction from her they desired, and Artetris lowered her head and hands in anger at them and herself. Why had she done that? They would never shut up now…

The wood witches taunted on, and Artetris grumbled. Beneath her the bear groaned with discomfort, and she shot him a glare before stomping his back with her boot.

"Shut up and walk, Bear," she demanded, placing her arms on her hips to look tough where she stood upon him. The young bear sheepishly looked up at her. "I don't want to hear a sound out of you unless it is to say we are there. Keep walking, and no one gets hurt."

The bear said nothing in response. He merely sighed and nodded his head. Artetris beamed with pride and grinned. If he kept complying to her wishes, she'd possibly make a companion out of him to continue his atonement.

Overhead, the wood witches continued their torture, distracting her once more.

"First dad, then mom…" they chanted on.

Artetris fought to ignore them, but it was, admittedly, very difficult; her leaving had caused the Arba Yaga and wood witches to take over her family's territory and home. The madness of her magic constantly replayed their chants in her head, whether she liked it or not, along with the visions to which they referred to. Rather than let it drive her nuts, however, she maintained her composure and held her head high as she remembered the one thing that always pulled her through it.

Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility…

Her tranquility…

Her tranquility had been invaded by a tree witch. The visions of Arbottoma Tree Witch overclouded her mind, and she cursed her magic's vivid pictures. She'd kill that tree witch. With her own arrows, she'd strike her dead.

Not only did the mantra remind her of the Arba yaga, it also worsened the visions of her parents—her mother, the hyleoroi wood nymph and her father, the ancient human wizard. Her thoughts stayed rooted upon them, and in defeat, she finally let her thoughts of them flow.

In the city, it had been hard to think of them, for neither would have ever approved of her living amongst the sad and mad wizards there or of her adapting and living their zany lifestyle of senseless power with which they did nothing unless it came to the city and threatened them directly. However, there beneath the forest of wood witch trees, her entire life of her and her parents guarding the wilds and its folk with dignity, fun, and pride all ran like a film inside her head.

Though corrupted, the part of the forest called Wood Witch Grove was still her home. A smile broke out upon Artetris' face as she relived their memory to herself. Their laughter echoed in her ears. Their smiles shined down from their faces. Their lessons flowed throughout her body, blood, and soul. Their powers—they protected her whenever she called on them. Their play and their love for her and one another fueled her gentler spirit despite how desperately she wished for it never to show.

Artetris remembered the splendors of their family's joy and cried, though not where the bear or wood witches could see. If only her father had never died…because then both of them would still be there.

Both her father—Manevus Wizard, a man from the olden times of human existence, in the days before his people had ever learned to make the technology like the bombs of war that had destroyed their world—and her mother—Hylea Huntress, the Watcher she had succeeded—were gone because of Artemis' curse. Thus, their spirits had left her behind to survive on her own. And for that, she hated Artemis and her ancient curse upon the nymphs who dared break their vows and fall in love with a man. She hated the woman, Strong, whose existence and turmoil had led to her father's sacrifice in order to save the woman's adopted kingdom.

For that…she had hated the forest and her duty to watch its flow until its time in that world ended and moved on to another, though that much she had definitely gotten over because she could not run from it further.

Even more than Artemis or anything else, however, she hated herself and the fear of the softness within that helped define half of her spirit and role. The fear of finding companionship and falling in love with some random adventurer or even the forest itself only to have it all snatched away had been the ultimate push towards her leaving the forest for the city, for she had no wish to die so needlessly. And yet, her fear of softness felt stupid, useless, and unfair. No one would ever wish to die just for deeply caring about someone. How raw was that deal?

The wood witches around them continued their chants, and she defeatedly listened.

"First fell the father when child was ten…

"Which felled the mother two years after then…

"One from heroism…dead and free..

"The other cursed and broken hearted…sad as can be.

"First dad, then mom, then you, then we!

"We grew in number, strength, and glee!" the wood witches chanted endlessly.

Six years Artetris thought to herself—they had to have been there for six years…

Anger swelled inside of her, but she took a deep inhale and let the madness pass her by.

Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility….

Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility….

Tears tried to well up from their ducts as the magic ailed her with more thoughts of her dad and her mom—but she held them back. No one could see her crying, especially not the opponents responsible for her tears; if they did see them, they would know her weaknesses and exploit them to even deadlier degrees. A deep breath escaped her as she focused on the hunt.

She would cry for her love ones and herself and her friends later after her enemy's life had been put in check.

Fed up with the wood witches' shenanigans, Artetris' gaze angrily glimmered with mana and turned towards the evil trees surrounding her and the bear; some took the look as a hint and stayed silent in the face of the danger that loomed while others saw fit to hiss back and cackle at her or taunt her further. Artetris focused her mind on the scene of trees and envisioned the wood witches on fire. While no actual fire came, she felt the heat stir about her; the wood witches' cries of confusion, terror, and pain soon followed as the sensation of fire swallowed them whole.

Artetris smiled in triumph as the forest witches all shifted their trunks to move beyond her mind's reach. They creaked as they stirred, trying to run away from her as quickly as trees could. The young bear observed in wonder and fear at the frantic scene of trees uprooting and crawling away like spiders.

Satisfied with her efforts, Artetris released the visions of fire from her mind and shot the trees a glare once more. Not one of them dared to cry out to chant at her further. Only hushed sounds of disdainful gossips or the shuddering of their voices in terror of her power and presence filled the air now. She grinned with pride and haughtily closed her eyes.

"I learned that in the city," she remarked to the wood witches. "Bug me with those chants again, and I'll show you more. And don't count on my losing control to madness. I'll sacrifice you all to keep myself stable. The blood of wood witches serves the madness blood price quite well. I've seen it done."

The wood witches hushed themselves to silence and, finally, said no more to her. The path ahead now lay clear, and Artetris heaved a breath of relief in response before returning her thoughts to the hunt ahead and holding her head high. She could see her old home in the distance now, the Arba yaga's base of operation. A hum escaped her, and she glared. Why her family's home? Why?

"You mentioned the Ring of Artemis before, Bear," Artetris remarked. "Did the witch say what her plans for finding it were? Or anything?"

"Mmm, not really sure…" the bear responded. "I half understood her. I know she mentioned me and my nose, but I'm not sure how it would factor in. I've never smelled…whatever it is…"

"It's a dryad ring," Artetris responded. "Nymphs come from the multiversal dreams of the globs. The first ones manifested as the kings of nature itself. Those were the elementals. Their children nymphs came after. Water nymphs, wood nymphs, earth nymphs—whatever types of nature formed from the Elementals' worlds.

"Long story short, Artemis was a hyleoroi nymph of great power who became the glob of the Hunt, she and her sister Diane. However, the Ancient Sleeper, Darren, progenitor of wood witches and Arba yaga, desired Artemis and had her body and soul turned into a ring when she refused him. In this way, he kept her for himself and commanded her powers.

"To combat him, her sister Diane lead the hyleoroi nymphs against his tyranny, and they defeated him. Diane lost her existence, but her sister's javelin was retrieved. Unfortunately, the ring was lost with Darren…but perhaps because of his recent reemergence and defeat, the ring has surfaced. It's a very dangerous thing.

"Those who wear the ring shall have Artemis' power and command over all wood nymphs…save for Hyleoroi like myself and Artemis' other maidens. Combined with the javelin Diana, there would be no stopping the witch who managed to possess both. But I shall not die or give up Diana so easily… It's all I have left of…"

Artetris quickly stopped speaking.

"Of who?" the bear asked, curious.

Artetris remained silent. She did not want the Wood Witches stirred against her once more. Why had she suddenly revealed so much knowledge to the bear? Had the wood witches' influence caused her to grow loose in the lips? Or had she just grown sick and tired of their silence?

Beneath her, she heard the bear moan in discomfort at being ignored. She huffed and ignored him, stomping him sternly to make him hush. He slightly snarled in aggravation but made no attempts to attack her or strike, and she watched him closely. He shot her a goofy looking, pouty glare and nothing more. Artetris nervously looked off to the side with a pout of her own as she hid her amusement from him and the wood witches too.

In her younger days, a bear like him would have won her over as a friend fast—a dumb but lovable companion with conviction and heart. How could she not respect someone so raw and pure? But she wasn't young anymore. She wouldn't be so careless and weak as to make an impractical companionship with another, not even in something as relatively safe as a friendship.

The bear finally grew weary of their walking in silence and began to talk.

"So…Miss Huntress…" the bear mumbled below her, and she shot him a glare. "Who were you talking to bef—?"

"Huntress Wizard," Artetris corrected at being called "Miss" by the bear. How she despised such titles that meant nothing.

"You were…uh…" the bear stammered as if unsure how to respond. "You were… talking to yourself?"

"What?" Artetris asked, taken aback by his nonsense. "Dude. No. I'm telling you that I'm called Huntress Wizard. Don't call me 'Miss'. I hate that…"

"Oh…sorry," the bear said, hanging his head. Silence returned between them before the bear broke it once more. "Huntress Wizard, who were you screaming to? Should I be worried about the fight ahead?"

"No," Artetris bluntly replied. She shot the bear a look and found him eagerly waiting to know the rest of her answer. A sigh escaped her, and she gestured towards the wood witch trees. "Remember before when I spoke of nature's nymphs? Within every tree, there lives a spirit, just as some live in a river or pond. Those are the nymphs I spoke of. Those who live within trees are generally called dryads…though 'tree nymphs' is a far more accurate term, and I can hear them where no one else tries because I'm kind of a wood nymph and kind of a forest wizard in lineage. These particular trees are mischievous and wicked, so I screamed at them to shut their annoying voices up. And I also imagined them on fire."

"Oh…" the bear responded in astonishment, looking around. "So that's why it got hot all of a sudden…"

"Yes," she remarked in confirmation of his suspicions. Normally, she would have stopped talking, but it touched her heart to have someone to truly talk magic and natural living with. Thus, she spoke on to show he knowledge. "That's how magic works. Our entire multiverse is the product of some mighty, sleeping glob's dream and its dreams' dreams.

"We consider witches and evil and the like their nightmares. Tree witches, who are decidedly more mobile than wood witches, are called Arba Yaga and can have very dangerous influences and powers. The one you spoke of, Arbottoma, is deceptively powerful…but stupid if I may comment."

The wood witches around them suddenly shuddered and gasped, and Artetris leered before rolling her eyes. Below her, the bear chuckled nervously.

"Are you sure we can say that underneath these trees?" he asked, shifting his eyes about. "Couldn't they…like…tell her you said something and cause her to go crazy?"

"Anyone who tampers with magic is already crazy by virtue of knowing far too much to believably remain sane," Artetris remarked matter of factly, unconcerned, for her opinion of Arbottoma's uselessness and idiocy remained unchanged. "Some understand what they know, like me, and accept it as normal. Others go mad from the revelation. Speaking of which…"

Artetris leaned forward to look the bear in the eyes as she spoke "…exactly, how crazy are you?"

A silence fell between them, and the bear looked down in dejection without answering. Artetris patiently waited and kept her gaze fixed on him for his answer. Nervously, he looked back and sighed. Artetris folded her arms and spoke further.

"You're a magic bear, and you've been taken by madness of transmogrification-based strength," she explained to him. "There has to be a catalyst for the change to take place. How long have you been in possession of these powers, and what triggers them? I suspect you have those answers."

"I don't…" the bear started to answer but quickly stopped and sighed before speaking honestly. "I'm not sure. Maybe anger triggers it…jealousy… or fear…. Or hate…"

He paused as if to feel and think on it. Artetris watched him with caution but listened closely.

"Yeah…" the bear said. "If I hate something, that may be the trigger. It's the only thing I can remember since facing the big bear…the guy who stole my girl…"

Artetris hummed at his words, remembering how the news of him had caused her to remain and make her grand return home.

Two bears…

Several bunnies, a few deer, some foxes, some trees and their nymphs…

And the fowl fey…

All of them had been slain by a mad and monstrous bear, by him. Remembering that filled her heart with aggravation and anger once more. If she had been out in the forest, could his corruption and crimes have been prevented? The bear took no notice of her cold scrutiny of his clumsy personal quirks of bashfully clawing the dirt and bashfully laughing; all of it confused her greatly.

"I wish I could tell you more," the bear said. "I…can't remember much. Or maybe I…just don't want to."

He stopped talking and remorsefully hung his head to the ground.

"I'm just a dingus bear…" he said, sitting. Artetris slid from his back to the ground and stood beside him. She stared at his dejection, her gaze softened greatly as she truly observed the youth before her, a youth who appeared to have lost it all already. Her heart twisted for him. "Maybe it's better you just go ahead and kill me now…before the witch or whatever tries to take me out and turn me against you when we reach her place."

Artetris quickly summoned her javelin and pointed it towards him in response. She'd scare that nonsense out of him. It wasn't something she liked to hear from him so suddenly. He seemed to pout before looking down once more, unphased by the weapon's presence. Artetris' eyes widened in disbelief, and she dismissed her weapon.

"I'm not going to kill you," she admitted. He cautiously looked back at her, and she looked off. "What you did is personal to be sure…but not because you're evil like the power that curses you. It's personal because…a good-hearted creature like you has been turned into a monster…and that, I can't forgive."

The bear looked up at her in shock at her words, and she looked away.

"So long as you are cursed, I'll have to watch after you the way I am supposed to," she spoke on, her chest twisting with doubt. If she just killed him already, there would be no worry. But… she simply could not. "And if I must kill you after all… I'll do so regretfully and with honor for having known you beyond the curse that took you."

The bear whimpered in comfort as if he would roar out in glee and cry. Artetris shifted in discomfort while keeping her gaze averted. She did not wish to give in to her soft-hearted desires of attachment, and yet, she felt that the bear deserved to hear some form of it from her—to hear that he was a good and pure bear deserving of her acknowledgement.

And that she was his Watcher.

Yes. She was the Watcher of the Forest. Some fates just could not be run from, and hers was one of them. She'd just have to make peace with her loneliness and not fall in love, no more than she already had with the home that was the forest.

The bear suddenly wrapped his large paws around her into a mighty embrace, and they twirled, much to her shock and horror. It took a few seconds of squirming and being released for it to become clear that he meant her no harm. As her heart raced, Artetris attempted to remain composed while the bear comically prostrated himself before her in apologetic worship. Artetris smiled a gentle smile at his gesture, and she puffed her chest out proudly.

"Oh my glob, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "I just…really appreciate your saying something so kind, Huntress Wizard."

Artetris folded her arms and averted her gaze from him to hide both her embarrassment and discomfort. To play it off, she looked up towards the clearing ahead. The witch's house sat before them and one whiff of the air told one's nose that food was cooking, meaning somebody was home.

"Idiot," she remarked dully but with a hint of playfulness. "You really are a dumb bear…though you did make a good decision to stop right here.

"I know this land and this house. We won't be able to launch any sort of frontal assault on this witch…not me at least. YOU could probably get in close I suspect, and we could use that to our advantage."

"Oh, yes!" the bear exclaimed. "Certainly. Certainly."

Artetris smiled at his eagerness.

"I'm glad you've got some spunk kid," she said with a soft grin. She shielded her eyes and looked up at the reddening sky. "I'll go my own way from here. I'll be by the house by nightfall. I will signal with an arrow when I am there. If you could, try to keep the witch distracted. Get her outside even. It's fine if you can't. I have my own plans for in case something goes wrong. I'll see you later."

"Oh…uhh…right," the bear said, happy.

With those words, Artetris turned to leave him and licked her lips madly. This witch was so hers. How dare she taint the forest and its creatures with her influence… with her ilk. She could not forgive it. The perfect circumstances to test herself as the returned Watcher of the Forest lay before her. She would fight the Arba Yaga into submission and force her to release… Bear's curse…

Artetris stopped. She did not know the bear's true name.

"Hey Bear," she called to him, looking back to find him dumbly sitting. He looked up with happy eyes and a smile. "What's your name? I'd like to know what to call you in the fight. Calling you 'Bear' at this point would be rude."

"Oh! My name?" the bear proclaimed excitedly. "It's Herakli… Herakli Ur."

Herakli Ur… Artetris thought to herself. She smiled and headed off. That much she could care to remember.


	5. Herakli's Confession

V.

Artetris flowed with the stream as a log. Though she could not see it in her log form, she felt it; she felt the dark magic permeating out the house and towards the Grove. Artetris cursed to herself for leaving her home behind. Once she reclaimed it, she'd never leave it again.

At the front of the house, she sensed two prime wood witches, older variants of the others who were a bit more combative and dangerous. Had she come from the front, they most definitely would have attacked her. She mentally patted herself on the back for taking caution, as much caution as she could in a forest of Wood Witches at least…though they had been relatively quiet her whole trek downstream…

As she bumped the house, Artetris sank down into the water and transformed back to her humanoid form. Her tree-like antlers rose from the shallow depths first as she quietly lifted herself out and onto the turf just near her tree house's rear. The undeniable odor of potion seeped forth from her home, and Artetris glared in suspicion as the pungent aroma singed her senses in the most unpleasant of ways. She definitely smelled the fowl fey's essence mixed in with several other scents. Had he been targeted by the witch directly? If so, how much control did she have over Herakli exactly?

And if not her, who did? And why?

Artetris circled the small tree house with care—watching, waiting, listening, and scrutinizing her enemies for weaknesses. She clearly saw how the primes seemed to argue; she could use that. She noticed the bedroom window, where she and her parents once slept, completely boarded over, and she huffed; no entry there. No problem.

The sensation of the prowling thrilled her—stalking her prey and hunting its weaknesses before striking. Her mana tingled throughout her as she continued scoping. She forgot herself in the darkness as she became one, in her mind with the air, the breeze, and the sounds of crickets and cicadas around them.

Yes. This was truly where she belonged. No more city for her unless some mega urgency called for her aid.

She caught herself and took a deep breath.

Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility…. and she was its Watcher of the Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees.

Artetris smiled at the new rendition of her mantra. It fit perfectly.

Inside, she could hear the old witch stir about, completely unwise to her presence. Arbottoma spoke in nonsense verse here and there as she cooked whatever her evil was brewing, and Artetris huffed, hoping to hear something related to her plans, something to help Herakli out. But Arbottoma said not a word on her heinous whims.

Peeping out from where she hid, Artetris saw that the wood witch primes seemed on alert for something. She hummed softly and closed her eyes in thought. Perhaps the lesser wood witches had alerted them to her hunt. If so, that would make signaling Herakli that much more difficult…

Unless she set the primes against one another.

The crazy thought took her mind in an instant, and her eyes popped open. Yes. Yes. She could do that! And it wouldn't take much more than her imagination as before in the Grove! If she was lucky, she could send the two of them falling over the cliff! Oh! Joyous hunting!

Artetris hid herself and closed her eyes in concentration. She imagined a branch smacking the prime wood witch closest to the cliff's edge. Repeatedly, she focused on the image, hoping for it to stick until finally, her target cried out in alarm at the other and hissed.

"Kkssss!" it said in its tongue. "You hit me again, I'll kill you!"

The second prime hissed back, and they swatted.

"Kkssss!" the other cried. "Who's hitting who you dumb lesser stick! I'll kill you…"

Artetris fought not to sniggle and laugh, but she did muster a smile of pride before going back to it and focusing on the other prime wood witch so that both would be livid. As the two simmered down a bit and returned to their watch, Artetris began once more.

Again, she envisioned a branch smacking one of them; this time, she focused on the other prime who immediately hissed and attacked.

"Stick, die!" the second prime cried, shoving.

"I'm no stick!" cried the first prime, shoving back. "You'll perish twig!"

Artetris listened to them spat and moved closer towards the cliff's edge where the water flowed.

She refocused her mind on the two fighting primes and saw them closing in on the cliff edge as the second prime shoved the first to the edge. No love seemed lost between them much to her amusement and pleasure. Artetris pulled an arrow from her quiver and set it on the ground to gather grass. She would have to time things just right…

The second prime moaned an angry moan and shoved the other for the edge, sending her falling back. With her mind, Artetris quickly shot her arrow and a vine between the two so that the second prime would trip and fall with the first right over the edge. As planned, the unwitting prime caught against the taut line and cried out in confusion as she took a fall with her victim. Both cried out "Nooo!" before their voices vanished into the thick below. Several crashes and cracking noises reached her ears, and Artetris chuckled with glee at her success.

The witch was next…

Artetris returned her attention to her hijacked home as she heard movement. She dismissed the arrow and vine before Arbottoma appeared from the door. The Tree Witch rushed to the edge in investigation, kicked her feet, and threw a tantrum.

"You idiots!" she cried after them. "Not again!"

Artetris grinned with pride. She loved this enemy's misery.

On cue, she heard Herakli lumbering forward to engage her. Arbottoma jumped and hissed out towards the presence she felt. Artetris quietly spied as he slowly moved as if hesitant.

"Huh?" Arbottoma proclaimed, her golden hair flowing with mystic power as she floated and scanned the land. "Who's there?! Intruders! Fear my bottomless hole!"

The Tree Witch stopped her magic, however, upon seeing the bear approaching.

"Oh! Acteo!" the witch exclaimed. "How's my hair look? Go on. Be honest."

Artetris' raised an eyebrow. Acteo? Who the heck was that? Acteon's brother? Artetris snorted and slowly crept out and towards the witch, a javelin at the ready…

The air suddenly grew cold, and the Wood Witch Grove sang out in alarm.

"Watch her, the Watcher! Watcher! The Watcher!" the chanted.

Artetris spat as Arbottoma turned around in confusion to find her. The witch hissed and dodged as her javelin flew, hitting nothing.

"Gah!" Arbottoma cried out. "You sneaky thing you! Acteo lured you here did he? Good. Good. We'll need that spear of yours for our hunt of the Artemis Band…

"Acteo, I have the brew ready! We can get to work quickly!"

Artetris stood up and conjured a second javelin.

"What are you on about witch?" Artetris demanded, glaring. "Herakli, who is this Acteo person she keeps calling you? Is that the voice you heard? If I kill her, will it end him?"

"Uh…" Herakli replied a bit uneasily.

"Oh!" Arbottoma exclaimed, snapping her twig like hands and facing Herakli. Artetris shot a look to her. "I get it. You're the other side of the bear body! The young one who thought I could resurrect the friends he slew under the influence of Acteo's power… That's the one. Acteo probably let you have control to lure the young wench to us. Genius!"

"Genius?" Artetris repeated in confusion before balling her hands in anger and throwing her javelin at the witch who yelped and dodged again before peeping around the tree from safety. Artetris glared towards Herakli, and he groaned and shifted uncomfortably. "Acteo?! A potion… That's…that's not what you told me! Just what in the Nightospherian hell is going on here? Herakli, you'd better explain, or you're dead!"

"What?" Herakli replied, shaking his head. "I don't know what she's talking about! I came to her for a potion to heal my friends! I never asked for a brew against the Watcher! I wanted you to come home! Things got bad with you gone! I'd never lure you here for her."

"Herakli…" she spoke, boiling with anger. She did not like this, not one bit. What had he not told her. "Explanation. NOW!"

"I…" he started to say before trailing off and looking down towards the ground.

The witch chuckled from her safety spot with malicious glee but said nothing Clearly, she held great interest in seeing how things played out. Artetris' anger and confusion fumed. So greatly did she wish to hunt and kill them both for making her look foolish!

But she couldn't. She needed to hear Herakli out. She wasn't a huntress for huntress' sake any longer. She was…guardian of the forest and trees…the Watcher. Artetris took a deep breath and held her anger in check and spoke a bit calmer.

"Why did you come here?" she asked him. "What happened?"

"I…" he started again. His anxiousness unsettled her, and she folded her arms. Herakli growled somewhat in frustration before speaking. "I've been wanting to tell you since earlier…back when we first met and you asked me about this bliz. I kept trying to think of a way, but it…never really wanted to come out… It was eating at me thought… and clawing away inside… I'm sorry…"

His words bothered her.

"What have you not told me?" she asked, listening for the witch and anything else. Things had suddenly grown eerily silent. "What did I not hear before. Tell me all."

Herakli sighed and spoke.

"Okay," he said. "Okay…well….

"The story was that I came here seeking help after a bad hunt, and that was true. But I…didn' tell you what the hunt was. It wasn't even really meant to be a hunt. It was…the power, the curse that came to me I…hunted the crazy white deer to try and win back my girl and my friends after being a…a pretty cowardly jerk to them before.

"That's when all of this started…"

Artetris' arms dropped, and her breath left her.

The white deer…

"Acteon…" she softly muttered in horror. "The Forest Haunter….No. My mother slayed him…"

"Your mother slayed the anguishing Acteon, true," Arbottoma spoke up from her spot. Artetris watched and listened to her attentively. "She slayed the old hunter; however, she missed out on slaying the new one, his pure, vengeful spirit, Acteo."

"No…" she muttered. Herakli whimpered and his head continued to hang down.

"Yes," Arbottoma said with glee. "Acteo and Acteon had split long before your mother slayed the latter…but who could tell when neither ever appeared together! Acteon had had enough of vengeance you see…but the same could not be said for his vengeful spirit itself. It still wanted to see Artemis' beings destroyed like Artemis herself. So it split from Acteon and latched onto another elk! And so, thus, was Acteo born!"

"No, no…" Artetris repeated, grabbing her head in frustration. Had she been out there, she would have known. "You're lying!"

"No child," said the witch, solemnly shaking her head. "It does not benefit me to lie here. I speak truth…for once. Ha!

"Acteon tried to warn your mother but died before he could…or so Acteo says. That juvenile cub there did not kill Acteon but Acteo, his vengeful spirit…and now he carries that monster's curse inside his own body! But that was by design, for a bear body is more destructive! Without a Watcher to warn him of hunting cursed beasts without the right tools, that bear became a prime target for Acteo's will! And to the dryad's end, Acteo works….for me! Ahahahaha!

"Does my hair look dingy? I've had this rug for almost five years now. I should find that hero boy and make him give me more!"

Herakli stood in grave silence, and Artetris gulped while looking towards him. No amount of her killing the witch would do them any good. To kill him—that would be her only way to save him.

"Herakli…" she lowly muttered towards him.

What…had he done?

Arbottoma heinously sniggled as if tickled rose by the entirely awkward situation. Balling her fists, Artetris stood her ground despite every part of her desiring to run from and to never look back on the trouble she had thrown upon herself as her duty as Watcher.

Herakli paused and awaited her signal to keep talking. She breathed deep and gave it to him, "Herakli, I have not heard enough out of you. Speak, Friend. Let me hear you."

Herakli inhaled deeply and spoke on., "Right….right.

"I wanted to be stronger and show them how I had changed. So I told them how I would make amends to my cowardice by facing and killing the White Deer, the Great Hunter—Acteo—who was hunting the forest. That I wouldn't come back without having faced him, the forest's greatest terror, and lived."

Artetris nodded.

She knew of Acteon's White Beast and his legend—the vengeful spirit of the human hunter whose curse by Artemis' own hands in response to him finding her bathing nude in a river had driven him mad with vengeance and led to more than a few millennia of pain.

To walk the lands in immortal terror, the hunter becoming the hunted again and again unless the Watchers killed him, and many had chosen not to—such had been Acteon's curse so much so that Acteon fell into despair and hate, seeking to end Artemis' kind.

But never would one have imagined that vengeful spirit taking a form of its own.

Herakli hung his head and continued. Arbottoma yawned rudely.

"After searching around for days," Herakli said, "I finally did find him, and I faced him. He hunted me in the instant we locked eyes, and I thought that I was going to die. But in the end, I stood against him and killed him!"

Herakli proclaimed that part of his story with a semblance of pride, but Artetris shuddered. Some things weren't worth hunting without the right tools, especially not demons of the ancient past. Her poor idiot friend…

Herakli continued, "After killing him, my body turned white, and it felt strong. But then this…this voice told me that he could make me even stronger if I went to see the witch Arbottoma. At first, I refused him and went home, but strange things…they started happening, and my friends all began saying how I had turned into a monster. I wasn't sure what they were talking…but then I…started to blank out a lot…and waking up in cold chills with blood all over me and carcasses on the rise. Everyone would tell that I'd done it, but I…could never remember. I started lashing out and hating my friends and family…"

Artetris gulp and stared at him in disbelief. The air suddenly felt colder than ever. Herakli kept his head towards the ground as tears began falling.

"I don't know much about what happened…" he said. "All I am sure of is…they're all gone now… Two dead…and the rest all hiding from me in fear… I thought that the witch could resurrect them. So I told the voice…I would come here since the Watcher was gone and would not resurrect the dead in the first place."

Artetris grabbed her head at his words, partially covering her ears. She had not heard that! She didn't hear him say how she had abandoned them to the forests' dangers and madness. She had come back now…

"I killed my friends…" Herakli sobbed. "My girl…and him…"

What had he done?

What had she?

Artetris turned away from him, her fists balled in frustration.

"You were trying to tell me that you had killed them before…weren't you?" she asked.

Herakli said nothing to deny her words. She cursed herself and looked at the ground, her pride in defeat. Everything finally made sense. She shook her head in shame. If only she had listened…

If only she had never left…

If only…

"Herakli…" she said, holding her head. "I am so…sorry…."

"I came here to ask her for power," he replied, emptily. "The voice in my head kept pushing me, and I wound up here, but after that… I… I… I don't know what happened. Everything went black…

"Next thing I know…you're chasing after me for slaughtering King. I've been trying to figure it out all day…and I did, but I wasn't sure what you'd do or say when I told you… Plus, I wanted the witch to die… No offense."

"Eh…" Arbottoma remarked, shrugging. "I'm a witch. If you don't want me dead, I'm doing it wrong."

"This is all my fault!" Herakli said, looking towards Artetris. She calmly watched him back. "I just wanted to see my ex…and my friend again… If only I never hunted that dear!"

If only… Artetris' mind played the echoing words over again and again in her head in madness.

If only…If only…

Her head throbbed as she struggled to focus.

Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility…. and she was its Watcher of the Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees.

And She was its Watcher of Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees….

The last part, her new part, struck her suddenly with inspiration like a sharp arrow to the head from nowhere.

If only… Not only…

She was. She was.

As Arbottoma cackled into the night sky, the wood witches cheered in triumph at their eminent retribution. Artetris, however, cared not for their arrogant wails. She looked up at Herakli, her madness focused positively for once in her life. Her will quickly grew firmer as she grasped her image tightly.

She was… She was…

"You can't waste time wondering on if-only's, " Artetris said, invigored. Herakli looked up at her with interest. "We can never truly say how past events might have played out 'if only'. If only I had stayed out here, I might have stopped this from happening…

"Or I might have been hunted by this witch at my young age and killed. It is truly impossible to say 'exacts' based solely on conjectures.

"I ran to the city, but I got stronger…and now…I'm more certain of who I am, of where I belong, and of who I must be with the strength I gained—of who I can and wish to be. It's that simple.

"I am Artetris, the Huntress Wizard. I am the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. I'm eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. I hail from this home on this peaceful cliff where the water always flows over the edge in tranquility….

"…and I am the Watcher of the Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees.

"Who we are…and what we do now. That's what matters. Never you mind 'if only's'. Worry more about the gift that is our present."

Herakli's eyes brightened at Artetris' words, and she smiled. Everything was clear to her. Once again, things around them had fallen silent, but Artetris did not care. Confidence flowed through her as it had not since her thrill of the hunt that afternoon. She kept Arbottoma in the back of her mind, waiting for some sign of her move. She felt the witch glaring at her conviction.

Artetris huffed and summoned her mightiest weapon with a whisper, one she had left behind in her youth—the Javelin of Artemis, Diana. The weapon resembled a giant leaf blade ceremoniously wrapped to a dragon bone pole with more leaves. She heard Arbottoma hiss at Diana's presence while Herakli stared at the weapon in wonder and awe.

"Acteo!" the witch cried, but nothing happened. "Gah! Is that bear's hold on you that great? Fine!"

She vanished into the house. Artetris leapt across the running stream and approached Herakli slowly with Diana in hand. The witch was of no interest to her. Her friend was the bigger problem. She stopped before her friend and sadly smiled at him.

"Whatever she has up her sleeve, it's going to kill you," Artetris bluntly stated. Herakli listened attentively. "I'm sorry Herakli, but as Watcher, I cannot allow a witch to bring your friends back. Death would be none too pleased if we took them from him after they were his."

He hummed sadly at her words but nodded with a soft smile.

"As for your curse…I" she spoke a bit more solemnly, and he looked up to her once more. She paused and took a deep breath before speaking. "It can be broken. Acteo can be slain… But to do so I must slay you."

"Oh…" he responded somewhat sadly. "I…I see…"

His head dropped in sadness, and Artetris closed her eyes in solemnity as she raised her mighty spear. If she didn't act before the witch, they would both die, and Herakli's soul would be wreathed with that guilt within Acteo for all time if he hurt her or anyone else. She had to free him. She had to save her friend the only way she saw how.

"It looks like I'll have to keep that Watcher's promise I made you…" Artetris remarked, grasping her javelin tightly. "I am…not happy about that one bit…"

Herakli choked a sigh as if holding back his tears. Aretris closed her eyes and allowed her own to flow before him.

"Right…" he managed to muster, his head hanging. "I'm glad I met you…Artetris…"

She took her stance with the javelin, ready to strike….

"I am glad…and honored I met you," she said.

"Hey! Hold the donk up, forest wench!" Arbottoma cried, leaping past her onto Herakli, before Artetris could strike him. "Ignore me, will you? I'll fix your buns!"

Artetris stepped back in shock while Herakli roared out in confusion and anger at the witch upon him; he thrashed about and slammed into the nearby wood witch trees, much to their terror, as he tried to throw Arbottoma loose, but her wood-skin arm wrapped around him like tree vines and held fast. Artetris narrowed her eyes in focus and readied her arrows. As she thrusted them forward, vines stretched from their tails and wrapped their prey around the legs and body. Herakli roared out in surprise as he tripped and fell backward, smashing Arbottoma beneath him.

The Arba Yaga groaned weakly at having been smashed while Herakli lay dazed. Artetris took note as the witch's grasp upon Herakli vanished, and she heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at having stopped the fiend from moving. Her smile, however, faded as the witch dropped an object to the ground from her free hand, an object shaped very much like a heart. It looked very much like an animal's heart, and it soon dawned on Artetris what kind.

Arbottoma had dropped the fowl fey's heart.

Artetris stared at it and then towards Arbottoma herself before becoming filled with rage and deciding she'd kill the witch too.

"So that's it!" she exclaimed. "You had Acteo kill King to craft a potion that would restore his life inside Herakli's body! How sick can you be?"

"I worked hard to craft my potion!" Arbottoma snapped back in madness. Her eyes spread wide as she struggled to raise Herakli off of her enough to fly out and up, high into the sky. Artetris grimaced and readied her arm for her javelin to fly.

But the air suddenly went cold and forced Artetris to stop and cover herself in comfort. Herakli stirred from the ground and rolled so that he stood above the heart meant to kill his hold on his body forever. A sudden sense of dread filled Artetris as he took note of it and sniffed it in disgust. Arbottoma cried out in summons.

"Acteo! Wake up!" the witch exclaimed as the wood witches ominously chanted around them.

"No!" Artetris cried, charging forward with Diana.

But Herakli suddenly stood up tall. With a roar of terror, he smacked her and the spear aside, sending her face-first into a tree. The wood witch trees all cackled and sung their horrid chants anew. In unison they sang to Arbattoma's summon:

"Acteo, huntsman of old!

"Slay the Watch! Avenge our soul!

"O fair! O great old Acteo!"


	6. Vs Acteo

VI.

Artetris struggled to stand back up. Her head was spinning, but she had endured worse scrapes. She spat towards the wood witches, and they exclaimed out in disgust at her rudeness. Once done with them, she refaced the nightmare unfolding before her and immediately remembered what was going on. Herakli's cries rang out into the night as his body became consumed by a spiritual force that was not his own; Artetris' heart twisted in pain at the sight of her friend being distorted into something grotesque. She looked to the ground and found her fears confirmed.

The fowl fey's heart potion from the ground was gone. The vengeful spirit had forced him to take it! Herakli's soul was being devoured by Acteo.

"Acteo…" Artetris growled, her mana boiling in anger. Diana radiated in her grasp as all of her emotions ran through her at once—hate, anger, sadness, fear, regret. However, all of them singled onto one unanimous feeling—madness. "I'll hunt you…"

Her friend was gone, died before her, and she would kill all involved, starting with Acteo…

She'd hunt him down until he was hers…

She'd skin his hide until it had paid for his crimes in blood…

She'd hunt him until time, itself, had ended.

Her head span, but she felt focused.

Her name was Artetris. She was the Huntress Wizard…

She was the Huntress Wizard— Watcher of the Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees.

Herakli's body grew large and tall, mightier than he had ever been before; Artetris watched her prey with caution. His figure stretched high until it toward beside the wood witch trees themselves. Even they shuddered in response to his massive girth, and Artetris thought she heard a few of them hiss. Even Arbottoma flew back in alarm at the monster that grew before her. Artetris licked her lips; the witch would die too.

Herakli, or Acteo who possessed him, doubled over in pain, holding his body as his shoulders pulsated and pounded as if something inside fought to get out. Artetris' eyes widened with interest as shoulder armor spouted out—thick, spiked, hide armor like a warrior huntsman's. His agonized cries continued as the body twisted from that of a bear's to one more like an ape's but with bearish features. His head grew horns, deer antlers to be precise, and his face contorted and twisted into the shape of a deer's, a white deer with black sclera and blood-red pupils and a mouth sporting a set of fangs. His bear arms and claws spread and sloped at his sides as he caught his breath from the pain and stood up straight, his transformation completed.

Herakli had vanished. In his place stood an anthropomorphic bear clad in hide armor on the shoulders and from the waist down with a head resembling the cursed animal who's spirit had gained full control of its vessel. Acteo's deer face looked about, taking in the sights granted to him by his new, monstrous form.

Artetris shuddered, not from fear but excitement. She grasped Diana and leapt back into the dark cover of the trees and ran to lure him after. She felt the ground shake behind her as Acteo's body turned. He spoke, and his voice thundered and roared as he did.

"You can't hide from this one," Acteo spoke. "The wood witches' song shall sing of your location, no matter how hard you try to lure me in with your hidden tactics. I'm smite your existence from this earth and then take Artemis herself! Rah!"

His roar set a gust into motion through the treetops that made the wood witches cry out in terror. Artetris huffed and felt no sympathy for them, and she stopped—far enough away to hide and think out her tactics. She looked down at the dragon wood javelin in her grasp and its leaf and diamond-scaled point; she could enlarge Diana to match his girth, but to do so would render it unusable for her…

Unless she…

Before her thoughts could finish, however, the wood witch trees parted from around her, leaving a path open for her enemy to see her clearly and charge if he wanted. She stared in disbelief at this and cursed as a javelin of his own appeared in his grasp and flew for her. Artetris summoned her magic and instantly went under the dirt to dodge. The weapon missed as she buried herself out of its path; however, it struck the earth so heavily and deeply that it threw her from underground and back to the surface.

As she rolled to recover, she suddenly found Acteo's mighty claws coming down for her head. Artetris' heart raced, and she scrambled to dodge as he came down upon her in full force. Just barely did his massive paws miss her body, but it slashed her arrows from her back and ripped her cape clean off. The force of it threw her down, and Acteo shook the earth as he smashed to the ground on all fours, making a recovery that much harder. He let out a sound at her that seemed a cross between a bear's roar and a deer's squeak before his jaws came to catch her next and possibly snap her in two if they succeeded.

Enlarging Diana, she jammed the tip up his nose, much to his surprise and horror. With a yell, he stood up and stumbled back in pain, carrying Artetris with him as he went. As blood seeped from his wound, she released her thoughts of the weapon's enlargement, and it shrunk, freeing her from his immediate reach. Acteo stumbled back onto his bum and snarled.

As she fell, Artetris summoned an arrow from her quiver on the ground and shot it deep into the wood witch thicket with her bare hands, a vine latched to the ground behind it. She caught the taut vine one-handed and used it to flip to the ground in safety. Behind her, Acteo groaned from the strike to his snout, and she snorted at his inability to take punishment or pain. The way he sat, his chest rested wide open. She licked her lips with eagerness and readied Diana for the throw.

A sudden jolt went through her, and she shook her head at herself and remembered the strength she had just witnessed. No matter how skilled she was as a huntress, she couldn't take this behemoth in a head on fight. She had to be smarter, wiser.

Precise and on point—she had to make him hunt her and rush him into his own demise.

Artetris hurried off into the wood witch thicket at top speed. As she went, she saw the wood witches making a path so that Acteo could easily pursue her. She gritted her teeth and cursed them and their continued insolence. If she survived, she would remember their treachery and tease them with fire.

"Hyleo!" she heard Acteo bellow behind her, the ground shaking as he recovered.

Artetris stopped to face him, remembering his javelin. Sure enough, she saw that he had grabbed it for round two as he charged. Her mind raced for a solution as his monstrous arm raised it for a throw. She needed to find herself an opening to put her plan into motion. Going underground to anchor it and strike—it would work but only if she timed it precisely. Too soon, and his javelin would unearth her…not to mention her wood witch foes and their roots. Too late, and his paw strikes would ultimately do the same…

But if she rushed at him underground… and rose that way? Would that work?

Acteo's javelin flew, and Artetris dashed forward, dodging.

It had to work. She had very few options in her position. She was…trapped. But she wasn't broken or down. She wasn't going to die. She couldn't.

Her eyes narrowed in focus. She had to stay focused leased her magic bunk things up… Acteo roared at Artetris' boldness with a laugh. The wood witches did the same. Her eyes twitched in annoyance, but her minded remained locked on the task before her.

"You've lost your mind!" he exclaimed. "Such is to be expected of a half-breed wizard nymph!"

As she and Acteo drew close, he readied his bear claws for her while his ugly deer mug let loose a battle wail. In return, she readied Diana for the strike and focused her anger. One strike was all she had.

One strike was all she needed.

Acteo swung, and she guarded with Diana's shaft and a swing.

As mana flowed throughout her body and the weapon in her grasp, both she and it sank harmlessly into the earth from Acteo's attempt to thrash them into nothing. From within the earth, Artetris smiled and acted. As she changed from half-nymph to tree, Diana transformed as well and grew as part of her, much to her shock and pleasure. The power she felt flow through her filled her body with the thrill of hunting, of catching and making the kill. They burst forth from the ground as weapon and tree merged as one to strike at Acteo's heart with Diana's power and Artemis' judgment.

The huntsman gagged in horror as she and Diana ran directly through him as a mighty javelin tree as big as he. Blood flew from the hole and from his jaws. His body went limp as Diana shined, carrying out Artemis' will to slay his vengeful spirit and lay it to peace. As Artetris lost strength and focus, Diana faded, and her body returned to its true shape. Acteo's body also changed and vanished as the ghost of the white deer floated off, no longer bound by its curse to the earth.

As she landed, a firm body covered in soft white fur broke her fall. As Artetris sniffed, her eyes snapped open at who's scent she smelled. She rose up and struggled to hold her tears back upon finding him laying flat on his belly fast asleep. As he stirred, unharmed, he looked back towards her and smiled. She shook her head in disbelief and smiled back.

"Yo!" he said, weakly but with enthusiasm.

"Herakli!" she shouted, diving at his neck for a hug, much to his shock. She heaved a sigh of relief and comfort at feeling his warmth against her. "You're…not dead. It's…unbelievable. This turned out alright!"

"Heh," Herakli chuckled, stretching and standing. "You beat Acteo! I saw it happen. That…was awesome how you merged with that javelin as a tree! You're the mightiest Huntress I have ever seen!"

Artetris smiled with pride at his praise. Yes. She did feel like the mightiest Huntress. She was the mightiest Huntress…

Behind them, the wood witch tress all wailed and hissed in anger at having her death snatched away from them so swiftly, and Artetris shot them a smirk before pointing. They were next. The wood witches hollered with woe, and the air turned chilly with fear.

Artetris frowned at the change in temperature and shuddered. Her anger with them felt no bounds, but for the moment, she would ignore them and deal with them later after daylight returned. She crouched down on Herakli for some comfort, and he laughed.

She was definitely going to make him her com—

Artetris' thoughts fell short as Herakli suddenly staggered and then collapsed. She rose up from Herakli in concern and looked at him for signs of injury. Had they celebrated too soon? Dread quickly filled her as she saw an arrow of green pierced through her snout, one of her arrows…

"Herakli…" she called to him, but he did not answer.

In the wind overhead, she heard the Arba Yaga cackle as well as the wood witches themselves before the witch's laughs faded. Artetris' arrows and quiver dropped from the sky and landed on the path just ahead of her and her friend's dead corpse. Her chest burned with rage and madness at the witch's defiance to the end.

Her voice spoke to Artetris, and she glared. "Acteo was such a bust!" the voice complained. "I'll have the Artemis Band sooner or later, and when I have claimed it, your life shall be the first ones to go. Until then, farewell."

The witch's presence faded, and Artetris felt the power of the wood witches leaving the trees around her in peace as they undyingly followed after their leader. Where were they going? She wondered as her body shook with madness and rage.

"No…" she growled under her breath as her friend lay dead beneath her. She had failed to save him, and his murdered had gotten away and taken her accomplices with her. Artetris' tears finally broke through her barrier and shed against her desire. "NOOO!"

Why had she lost him to her own arrow? Why when they had been so close?


	7. Finn

VII.

"Spirit of the Forest," Artetris called to her old mentor and companion, but no answer came.

Weeks had passed since Herakli's death and the tree and wood witches' departure, but it all still felt as if only a matter of days had passed her by. The bear was gone, and his family and friends had been told his tale so that they would not hate him. She had buried him off in the woods next to King and kept his pelt for the warmth, the same warmth he had brought to their brief friendship by being himself. The tree nymphs had thanked her and relocated to their proper homes while she had relocated to hers; cleaning it up had been a wonderful distraction…

Still, she felt ill at ease.

The Spirit of the Forest still eluded her, too, and she needed him. She needed his guidance, his voice, no matter how cryptic it would end up being.

Did he not forgive her for leaving the forest and allowing the forest's dark events to transpire? Or was he gone?

"Hey…" she called out to him once more.

She still received no answer, and a sigh escaped her before refocusing on the task at hand, hunting from lunch. Since her companion's death, she had barely felt like eating, but a good Watcher needed to stay healthy, so she would.

Around her, the renewed forest sang joyful yet mournful songs, like how she felt inside. Her combined success and failure left many things feeling rather bittersweet.

On one hand, a great curse upon the forest had been lifted, multiple curses in fact, for the witch Arbottoma had been run off along with her wood witches. Acteo was also gone forever, the most powerful of the vengeful forest spirits now deceased.

On the other hand, Herakli and his friends were dead, and his family still mourned the violence that had truly taken control of him. In several ways, they blamed her for it, and as far as she could say, they had every right to do so.

"I won't let your death be in vain," she spoke aloud to know one. It simply felt like Herakli's spirit walked with her. "I have given your fur the highest honor in my home. Hopefully, that's not too weird. I've made it strong, and I call it the Pelt of Herakli, a light armor of great assistance…

"Because you were my big little helper."

Artetris temporarily stopped her hunt and observed the forest, the rejuvenated forest. Her mind fully took it all in; the cursed parts that had once been barren and black with dead trees now shined a bright green in the light of the new day, a green that reminded her deeply of the path she had chosen. It warmly reminded her "She was home."

Artetris ignored the forest and its trees' kind words of thanks for freeing them as she headed off to keep searching for food. A small bit of anger and frustration grew in her as Arbottoma appeared in her mind. That stupid Tree Witch… She'd hunt her and end her. The wood witches were truly gone, gone from her and her anger's reach. But she had not finished the mission. Arbottoma had escaped like a coward, and she needed to find her. For that, however, she would need help.

The Spirit of the Forest's help. He could find anything tree related, even a witch.

In addition to that, the Spirit could also help her find the answers she needed for being a better Watcher. She could not allow another forest creature to suffer as Herakli had because of her negligence as a guardian. Artetris took a deep breath and kept her gaze focused straight forward. She could not afford to look back and reflect on past mistakes, not anymore than she already was at least.

The wood nymphs of the forest danced and laughed as those who had been displaced by the wood witches were very glad to be back in their homes. Though trying to resist it, Aretris could not help but muster a gentle smile at their laughter and the song of glee their voices and the wind carried. Unable to resist, she closed her eyes and allowed the music of the forest to lull her along.

She'd follow it to Herakli's grave. She'd follow it to the comforts of her family tree home. She'd follow it to him, the Spirit of the Forest. She would follow it to wherever she needed to be.

Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility…. and she was its Watcher of the Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees.

She smiled. She loved it. It fit perfect. Finally, she had found where she belonged…

Flute? Flute. Flute. Flute…

Artetris stopped as her mind annoyingly became fixated on a sound in the wind far off from her. She opened her eyes and looked towards it as she stopped. It's magic… It pulled her like a summoner's song. She narrowed her eyes.

Was it her? Was it Arbottoma?

Artetris huffed and rushed off into the direction of the sound. She had to find it before it could escape. If Arbottoma had discovered a new summon in pursuit of the Artemis Band, she would stop her in a hurry. Never again would evil magic have free reign within her forest.

She was just the Watcher, just the Huntress, to carry that mission out.

As she followed the sound, the music grew louder. It carried a mixture of loneliness, sadness, madness, and rage, as if multiple souls were fighting out their battles and pain in song. The sensation of it touched her and resonated with her own internal conflict, particularly the parts that were lonely and sad. If Arbottoma did not end up being the culprit, who would she find at the end?

The sound of the flute song rang loud as she approached the river. Sniffing the air, she smelled someone, though it was not the target for whom she had hoped. It did, however, smell familiar, a scent she had captured here and there time and time again. A scent she had known once, long, long, long ago. But it couldn't be him. It could not be…

She parted the plants and stepped out into the open to see who played the music for herself, and her breath slightly left her in disbelief as she found him. It was him.

Finn, the Human and Hero of Ooo. Artetris eyed him closely. He had grown well since she last saw him as a babe in her youth…. before her parents left him for another family to raise. For some reason, they had not wanted to take him that day they found him on the beach. Instead, they set him loose in the wilds and watched over him until two dogs came along and took him. She had practically forgotten about that.

Finn quickly took notice of her as she stomped forward, and he sputtered in surprise before dropping his flute into the water to hide his body, not that it would do much good if she decided to attack him.

What was he up to?

"Hello," Finn said, trying to diffuse the situation as calmly as a nude man could.

"How are you playing like that?" Artetris demanded, pointing at him.

She'd find the truth to this human's magic. He had never been a wizard before, so why now? What spirit helped him play? And why?

"I don't know," Finn said in a mildly cheerful manner. "I'm just making stuff up."

She did not like that answer. It sounded all too familiar. Luckily, she had arrived in time to find him and stop him.

"Something in your notes has the qualities of a powerful evocation spell," she explained to him. "What spirit guides your hands?"

She reached for an arrow and levitated it before her.

"Tell me, or I'll put this up your nose…!" she demanded.

She would worry about people skills later.

Finn glared at her sternly and pointed. She glared back. He wasn't going to scare her into backing off from this. The magic of his flute carried the potential for danger if not properly guided.

"First off, I'm a great fighter," he said. "I'm especially agile when I'm nude, so good luck."

Artetris continued glaring. Nude, huh? She'd destroy him whatever way he came.

"Secondly," he spoke on, wiggling his fingers upon his flute, first his left and then his right. "My flute improv ain't no secret."

He held up his right hand which sported a green thorn. Plant magic… Where had he received it?

"I let my grass hand do whatever it wants when I play," he said wiggling it. "It's usually sort of busy and shreddy."

She threw the arrow to the ground and stepped forward towards the river.

"Let me see that hand!" she exclaimed, an idea coming to her. Finn wasn't who she was looking for, but his magic, it was possibly the key to finding the Spirit of the Forest and more. She stared at his hand in disbelief as the idea filled her mind, and then she turned to stare at him. Confusion filled his mind, clearly, but he remained calm. "You're what I've been looking for…"

She could use him. She could have him summon the Spirit of the Forest who, in turn, could help her find Arbottoma and exact judgment against the witch. Only then could Herakli be avenged. Only then could she call herself a proper watcher.

Finn stared at her blankly before rubbing the back of his head in confusion. He was, clearly a hero and an idiot. Artetris heaved a sigh and thought of how she could word it before the obvious hit her.

"I need help," she said, knowing that Finn would understand that much. His eyes lit up at the mention of the word. She had captured his attention. "Will you play you flute spell to summon someone for me?"

He scratched his chin as if in thought before smiling.

"Sure," he said, cheerfully. "I'll gladly help you M—"

"Huntress Wizard," she declared before he could say "miss". He rubbed the back of his head and slightly chuckled at her.

She turned away from him but not before glancing down and realizing she had barged into the river and just stood talking to a naked young man. She definitely still needed to work on her people skills. All that time in the city, and it was the one thing she had never truly learned.

"Huntress Wizard," Finn repeated behind her as he followed her to the bank. She slightly looked back before looking forward once more. "Nice. Cool name. Do you hunt monsters, demons, evil, or just game?"

She slightly smiled. No one had ever bothered to ask her before. She did not let Finn see her smile, of course. Why would she? She did not need him hanging around any more than necessary, not with what she had to do.

"All of them," keeping her answer short and sweet. "I'm Watcher of the Forest and trees and such… Hurry up and get dressed. I'll train you to be in tune with the forest and understand your music so that we can pull this off."

"Okay, sure," Finn said, somewhat excited.

"Good," Artetris said, thinking of the best place to get started. "Meet me at the center of the forest by the large oak when you are done. I'm going to find something to eat, but I'll be there soon."

With those words, Artetris leapt off before Finn could reply. She figured if he got lost, she'd find him. The important thing was that he had agreed and that she had stopped him before his songs could send him tumbling into something dangerous…like Herakli. She had finally returned to the forest, and under her watch, she'd never allow a tragedy like that to happen again. She just had to focus on finding her mentor and working with him to get better at the job. That's what she would do.

After all, she was Artetris, the Huntress Wizard.

She was its Watcher of Forest—of its lands, beasts, and bees.

That was the path she had chosen.


End file.
